Numerous studies document that time outdoors is critical for the health and well-being of

a child. Increasing green space and outdoor experiences is now well documented in better

health, increased focus and academic success, and lowering rates of attention deficit

hyperactivity disorder.

Yet across the country, children are spending less time in play and engaging in the wonder of farms and nature.

This Spotlight provides examples of how land trusts are working with schools to create healthy communities

and a long-term conservation ethic. Whether it’s convening organizations to get kids outside, offering

educational programs on their lands, acquiring land close to schools or implementing other programs,

land trusts are making a difference now that will last for years to come.

Partnering with Schools...Across the country, land trusts, like Lake Forest Open Lands Association, are focusing on the next generation, providing land, programs, support and funding to enrich the educational experiences and lives of youth in their communities.

Little Traverse Conservancy — MI

For nearly 30 years, the Little Traverse Conservancy (LTC) has

offered programs and activities on their lands, as well as in the

classroom, to foster a greater understanding, appreciation and

enjoyment of the natural environment.

Annual reach of their program averages more than 4,500 children

from over 270 school groups to help them appreciate nature

and learn about the outdoors in the outdoors. In addition to the

students, hundreds of parents and teachers attend and assist

with the activities.

“I find it essential in today’s society to get our kids outdoors. Many

of my students do not have opportunities nor take the opportunity

to appreciate nature. By building in time with LTC, I not only am able

to meet several state standards, but allow my students to discover

and learn in a way they may have never imagined,” explains Christie

Meyer, teacher at Concord Academy Boyne and a partner with Little

Traverse Conservancy.

• Partners: Approximately 50 schools, public and nontraditional, homeschool groups and scout troops, parents and volunteers

• Staff: 15 FTE | 1 FTE plus 2 seasonal staff dedicated to education

• landtrust.org

Creating a Culture of Caring

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

— William Butler Yeats

Little Traverse Conservancy Little Traverse Conservancy

2 Community Conservation • Partnering with Schools

Kennebunkport Conservation Trust — ME

Kennebunkport Conservation Trust (KCT) has provided field trips

for the local elementary school for 10 years. Each grade adopts a

different land trust property, learning its unique environmental

and historical landscape during visits two to three times a year.

KCT expanded it to include other elementary schools in the area,

summer camps for middle schoolers, high school programming

for the Alternative Education Class, and even college studies.

• Partners: University of New England, environmental science teachers at the local elementary, middle and high schools, summer camps, volunteers

• Staff: 3 FTE | 1 FTE for program

• kporttrust.org

Sycamore Land Trust — IN

Sycamore Land Trust believes that

building an appreciation for nature is

critical to its mission of protecting

land and to creating a healthier

Hoosier landscape.

The land trust's 16 public nature

preserves offer opportunities for a

hands-on approach to learning about

nature. By providing environmental

education to people from preschoolers

to retirees, the land trust creates a

community of people who understand

the value of nature and want to

protect it.

• Partners: K–12 schools (public and private), corporate funders, like-minded nonprofits, and Indiana University

• Staff: 7 FTE | 1 FTE for program

• sycamorelandtrust.org

Kennebunkport Conservation Trust

Sycamore Land Trust© Abby Henkel, Highland Elementary School

“Our community supports our land trust in large part because of these programs; our financial resilience is linked to our educational programs.”

— Tom Bradbury, KCT Executive Director

Community Conservation • Partnering with Schools 3

Mentoring Urban Youth

Lookout Mountain Conservancy* — TN

The land trust works in partnership with a local high school

grappling with the lowest graduation rates in Chattanooga.

Leadership Interns (11 to 18 high school students per year) are

hired to work with land trust staff on a weekly basis, all school

breaks, and full-time during the summer to participate in leadership

training and the transformation of a property into an urban

nature-based park and community oasis.

The land trust uses conservation as a tool to change lives

by providing academic and life-skills mentoring; community

job-shadowing and enrichment activities; a sense of place in the

outdoors, including growing and cooking food, trail design and

maintenance and habitat restoration; and a community of support.

Students who decide to enroll in college or technical schools are

provided mentoring support and summer employment.

• Partners: High school, parents, local professionals for job shadowing, Chattanooga Rotary

• Staff: 2.5 FTE | 1.75 FTE for summer program, 1 seasonal assistant

• lookoutmountainconservancy.org

Lake Forest Open Lands Association* — IL

Lake Forest Open Lands Association

hosts the Center for Conservation

Leadership (CCL), a conservation,

service learning and student

leadership development program

for high school students in diverse

communities throughout north-

eastern Illinois. CCL connects teens

to nature by facilitating place-based

learning experiences that empower

students with extensive stewardship

and leadership training.

Through mentor-guided stewardship

projects, these future environmental

leaders serve a pivotal role in their

own communities—improving local

natural areas, raising environmental

awareness and fostering a deeper

civic and conservation responsibility

in Lake County.

CCL supports its students in

conservation education throughout

high school and identifies and helps

place them in internships and higher

educational opportunities as

they grow.

• Partners: Over 2,000 students in pre-K–12th grades reached each year

• Staff: 13 FTE | 1 FTE dedicated

to education

• lfola.org

Lookout Mountain Conservancy

4 Community Conservation • Partnering with Schools

Farming, Youth Leadership and Academic Success

For more examples check out Addressing Food and Hunger Spotlight.

Trust for Public Land *— HI Chapter

The Trust for Public Land partnered with MA’O, a rural nonprofit,

to purchase a total of 18.5 acres of its 23.5-acre organic farm

(MA’O leases 5 acres from a neighbor) in two separate projects

to enhance local food, leadership and educational opportunities.

In addition, TPL is assisting MA’O to acquire an additional 21 acres,

with another phase planned for 236 acres that may include an

affordable housing element.

MA’O provides certified organic fruits and vegetables to community

members while also offering career direction and leadership training

to O’ahu’s youth. As part of this work, MA’O is developing a

comprehensive and living local food system—educating youth,

fighting hunger, improving health and nutrition and growing the

organic agriculture industry.

Education is a core part of the MA’O operations, developing programs

with Wai’anae High School, an associate degree program at Leeward

Community College and a bachelors of applied science in sustainable

community food systems at the University of Hawai‘i West O’ahu.

The interns, most of them fresh out of Wai’anae’s high schools,

work the farm three days a week while attending community

college full-time. MA’O pays interns a stipend based on farm and

educational performance and pays for tuition waivers to Leeward

Community College.

MA’O mentors the students to run the farm and assist the students

in transitioning from high school to college. In this underserved area

of West O’ahu, many public high school graduates are not adequately

prepared for college.

MA’O sells its produce at farmers markets, natural food stores and

award-winning restaurants, and was selected as one of the first

local suppliers for Whole Foods in Hawai‘i.

• Partners: Wai’anae Community Re-Development Corporation (dba MA’O Organic Farms), high schools, colleges

• TPL provides the technical assistance to acquire land, MA’O staff work with students, families, community members

• tpl.org, maoorganicfarms.org

© MA’O Organic Farms

© MA’O Organic Farms

Community Conservation • Partnering with Schools 5

Feather River Land Trust* — CA

As part of its land conservation strategy, the land trust pioneered

an integrated program for long-term conservation ethics and

impact, community visibility and organizational support:

• Conserve land adjacent to every school so teachers can

bring students outside to learn and have fun;

• Enhance school and educational lands by installing trails,

signage and seating areas;

• Support K–12 teachers to independently “Teach from the Land” throughout the year. “Learning Landscapes” annually connects with approximately 2,500 school children in six communities

of the Upper Feather River Watershed.

• Partners: Elementary, middle, and high schools

• Staff: 9 FTE | 0.5 coordinator, 0.5 FTE various staff for program

• frlt.org

“We are committed to conserving land in perpetuity and ensuring that every child in every generation will have this opportunity to connect to and care for the land.”

— Rob Wade, Feather River Land Trust Learning Landscapes Coordinator

Transforming Land to Become “Learning Landscapes”

Feather River Land Trust

6 Community Conservation • Partnering with Schools

Groundswell Conservancy* — WI

Nearly 80% of Lake View Elementary

School children come from low-

income families, typically living in

apartments with no yard or natural

areas nearby to explore.

Groundswell Conservancy is building

them a nature course on a 1/2-acre

of wooded land abutting the school

where students can have fun while

learning about nature.

• Partners: Elementary school, volunteers, community youth involved in Operation Fresh Start

• Staff: 6 FTE | 1 FTE focused on land protection

• groundswellwisconsin.org

Aspen Valley Land Trust* — CO

Aspen Valley Land Trust protected Basecamp, a rugged, aspen-tree

covered property the Aspen School District’s eight-grade outdoor

program has used for over 50 years. Kids backpack 25 miles

through wilderness, arriving there for three days of team building

and individual growth activities.

In 2018, four new school groups will use Basecamp to experience

mother nature’s recharge with a dozen more interested in

developing outdoor education programs in the future.

• Partners: Crested Butte Land Trust, numerous schools and youth programs throughout the Roaring Fork and Colorado River valleys

• Staff: 6.25 FTE | 0.5 FTE for program

• avlt.org

Aspen Valley Land Trust© Aspen Middle School

Groundswell Conservancy© Susie Hobart

“If we want land trusts to thrive we have to inspire and engage the kids. They’re our future.”

— Suzanne Stephens, Aspen Valley Land Trust Executive Director

Community Conservation • Partnering with Schools 7

Bringing Food into the Classroom

California Farmland Trust — CA

Sponsored by Raley’s, this “Raley’s Field Trips on the Farm” program

connects 240 fourth- and fifth-graders per year to the land. With

classroom lessons followed by visits to farms and Raley’s grocery

stores, the students and their teachers learn about the entire food

cycle and come to appreciate the land that provides for them.

One of the aims of the program is to encourage the students to

create healthy eating habits long-term. They see firsthand where

their food comes from and meet the hard-working people who

make the food they eat possible.

• Partners: Raley’s Family of Fine Stores, Lodi Unified School District, Ag in the Classroom, Steamboat Acres (a local farm), first generation farmers

• Staff: 3 FTE | 1 FTE for program

• cafarmtrust.org

Athens Land Trust *— GA

Athens Land Trust partners with

FoodCorps and Clarke County School

District to provide in-school and

after-school education.

As a host site, FoodCorps service

members work directly with students

and teachers to provide hands on

learning in the classroom and garden,

role modeling and taste testing in

the cafeteria and help to promote

a school wide culture of health.

The ultimate goal of this partnership

is to connect kids to healthy food

in schools.

• Partners: FoodCorps, Clarke County School District

• Staff: 31 FTE | 1.5 FTE for program

• athenslandtrust.org

Athens Land Trust© JJ Harrris

California Farmland Trust© Melanee Cottrill

8 Community Conservation • Partnering with Schools

Immersion Programs

Joshua's Tract Conservation and Historic Trust* — CT

Joshua’s Trust partners with

EASTCONN, a public, nonprofit,

Regional Educational Service

Center, to provide a formative field

experience over six to seven summer

weeks building and maintaining

trails, learning about invasives and

how to remove them, and building/

repairing bridges and boardwalks.

The students are paid by Eastern

Connecticut Workforce Board

(ECWB) and work side-by-side

with land trust staff and mentors.

• Partners: EASTCONN, ECWB, students, mentors

• Staff: 1 FTE

• joshuastrust.org

Joshua's Tract Conservation and Historic Trust© Sue Beach

Blue Ridge Land Trust — VA

As part of its pledge to protect land in perpetuity, the Blue Ridge Land Conservancy is preparing the next generation to appreciate the environment and natural resources and become good future stewards of the land. The conservancy also runs weekend programs to bring the public onto conserved lands and share its conservation successes with the community.

The “Bay and River Days” program invites area fourth-grade students once a year to a property protected by a conservation easement to learn about water quality and watersheds, and how their actions at the headwaters of a local river can impact water quality and the livelihoods of people downstream.

The “Outdoor Adventure Series,” which runs from May to October each year, includes hikes to local scenic mountaintops protected by the conservancy, as well as craft programs and educational classes.

• Partners: Rural and urban school districts, local nonprofits and government organizations

• Staff: 2 FTE, 0.5 FTE with community programs

• blueridgelandconservancy.org

Blue Ridge Land Trust© David Perry

Community Conservation • Partnering with Schools 9

Youth Exploring Rural Landscapes

Mohonk Preserve* — NY

Mohonk Preserve hosts a “STEM Rising” initiative, which engages

underserved students in grades six to eight from Newburgh, New York.

This project brings students to the wild, green spaces along the

Shawangunk Ridge to learn about land conservation and stewardship

ethics through STEM and project-based learning and community

service. Lessons include guided field projects on the land such as

trail design and restoration, animal tracking, landscape reading,

and short-term weather forecasting, along with all equipment,

from compasses and snowshoes to trail impact assessment tools.

The program addresses local community needs while helping to

implement the Preserve’s strategic goals for inclusivity, community

conservation and using nature education as a way to engage young

people in life-affirming outdoor discovery experiences on protected land.

Mohonk Preserve is also teaming up with Marist College to conduct

ongoing surveys of the students who participate in the STEM-based

environmental school field studies programs to help generate ideas

for developing and promoting more inclusive experiences in nature.

• Partners: Local middle schools and Marist College

• Staff: 38 FTE | 1 FTE for program

• mohonkpreserve.org

Montezuma Land Conservancy* — CO

The land trust owns 83 acres in

rural Colorado, in a county that

experiences a poverty rate of 29%

for those under 18.

The property serves as an agricultural

education center providing a space

for community collaborations that

partner with educators to engage

students with hands-on agriculture

and conservation projects focused

on reconnection to place and

creating opportunities.

• Partners: Served 500 youth in 2017 including a paid summer internship program for local at-risk high school youth.

• Staff: 3.25 FTE | 2 FTE for program and land conservation

• montezumaland.org

Mohonk Preserve© Jay Diggs

Montezuma Land Conservancy

10 Community Conservation • Partnering with Schools

Save the Redwoods League* — CA

As one of the oldest land trusts in the country, Save the Redwoods

League’s “Redwoods and Climate Change High School Program,”

brings students from all walks of life from San Francisco Bay Area

cities into a local redwood forest to conduct scientific research

and study the impacts of climate change.

This program consists of four classroom lessons and a field trip

to the redwoods. Students analyze real scientific data and have

an opportunity to explore the forest as a scientist.

• Partners: Elementary, middle, and high schools, citizen scientists, volunteers

• Staff: 50 FTE | 1 FTE for program

• savetheredwoods.org

“Kids and their love of nature and farms are the future of conservation. Without them our work may not withstand the test of time.” — Nicole Baddock, Solano Land Trust Executive Director

Climate Change, Community Collaboration

Save the Redwoods League Northwest Arkansas Land Trust

Northwest Arkansas Land Trust *— AR

The land trust coordinates the

Kessler Mountain Outdoor Classroom

and Nature Center, a community

collaborative effort.

The Outdoor Classroom, provides

environmental education programs

for all ages, including guided field

trips with activities designed to meet

current Next-Gen Science standards,

open house family events, and other

community programs.

• Partners: Pre–K through high schools, Arkansas Native Plant Society, National Park Service, Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association, Boston Mountain Solid Waste District, Mt. Kessler Greenways

• Staff: 4 FTE | 1.5 FTE for program

• nwalandtrust.org

Community Conservation • Partnering with Schools 11

Six Tips for Partnering with Schools

“I saw my son come out of his shell. He found a passion and built trust...It has changed him in a way that I had only dreamt was possible.” — Mary M., parent of a Little Traverse Conservancy participant

1. Listen to what the challenges might be in your local schools. Identify a few people who

know the needs of the area: a teacher, town

manager, parks and rec person, retired experts

or even businesses that provide public outreach

and education.

2. Talk to organizations in your community that work with youth. What are the challenges

they see? Ask them how they are enriching

the lives of youth and how you might help.

What would your partner organization

consider to be a successful? Does that

match your goals?

3. Consider the safety of kids and what the

experience will be like. Will they go to nature

or will nature come to them? How will you train

and screen those who will have contact with

them? Check on insurance.

4. Brainstorm types of programs. What do

teachers and parents want? Resist the

temptation to develop your own “educational”

programs unless that is really necessary. There

are a lot of existing programs you could tap into.

Clarify with teachers if the program needs to

meet state education standards. Who will

advocate for the program in the school?

5. Design program sustainability. Will your staff

or seasonal staff run or oversee the program?

How could volunteers be involved? Or parents?

Look for another group that is not being

served and opportunities to engage them

though conservation, like pairing elders with

a younger generation.

6. What is the funding source? Often these

are low-cost programs yet there will be some

costs —such as insurance, food, equipment or

supplies and transportation.

1250 H Street NW, Suite 600 Washington DC 20005

(202) 638-4725 info@lta.org www.landtrustalliance.org

Join the conversation Community Conservation Learning Network forum on the Learning Center https://tlc.lta.org/CCLNforum

A special thank you to... Funding provided in part by Nordlys Foundation. Research by Collin Adkins, Deb Bicknell, Deb Chapman, Melissa Levy and Kathy Reiser.

Produced in partnership with Judy Anderson of Community Consultants (community-consultants.com) and Dorene Warner of W Design (wdesigngroup.com).

*Denotes accredited land trust. See landtrustaccreditation.org

Interested in other tips, examples, and suggestions? Go to the Land Trust Alliance’s website at www.lta.org/community-conservation

Do you have a program or project to spotlight? Email communityconservation@lta.org